Exchanges
by SineadsFace
Summary: A musing on the mortality of a jumper and a silent exchange. One-shot, possibly more. I'm debating it.


The heads dorm was the current location of a red haired female, and since only those with a password could enter we can safely assume she is either the head girl or a close friend. The gleaming golden badge on the discarded regulatory Hogwarts robes, however, allow us to eliminate one of these options and deduct she is Lily Evans. Head Girl.

She pulled on the sleeves of the jumper that had been hurriedly thrown over the top of her school skirt and blouse. The wool was soft, but did nothing against the chill in the heads dorm despite the nearby fire in the elaborate mantelpiece. Lily's favourite jumper had been a thick leafy coloured cable knit sweater that was a size too big for her; it had been a present from her mum before she left for school. It was also not on her person due to James Potter, Sirius Black and an apparently irreparable severing charm which they had found on a rare foray into the world of revision.

Lily didn't blame them though, well, not after a timed hair dye charm and a spider in each of their beds. The spider's effectiveness in Black's case was rather entertaining and, she mused, very probably the source of his bad mood with her, despite the fact that he had started it. Her eyes drifted back down to paperback in her lap, it had been given to her by Dorcas as a Christmas present and in attempt to stop the red head from outshining her with the half term potions assignment. The book was the story of a girl falling in love with the handsome guy and him being the embodiment of every stereotype of perfection that could possibly pass through the mind of the author. Generally she wouldn't admit to reading a book of this style, preferring to read fantasies and escape into the world framed within the pages. But this book was different apparently, though there was so far no evidence towards the assurance printed on its cover.

Her eyes, however, were being repeatedly dragged from the ridiculously perfect depiction of reality in between the book's cover by the colour of the jumper she was currently wearing. Lily didn't have any qualms with the many available shades of blue available; Just this one. This cobalt blue jumper may look amazing on James, no matter how many times she tries to deny it, who had respectful offered it for her use. But it certainly doesn't look good on her. The wool clashes with the red hair that tumbles down her back and leaches the colour out of her skin causing many of her friends visiting her shared dorm to ask after her wellbeing.

This sudden thought brought about by the subject of her musings causes her anger to inexplicably flair. How dare he do that? After damaging her property, how can he just offer her a replacement jumper and go on as if the destruction of one of her favourite objects has no impact on her life? This is not what she wants. You cannot relate the mortality of a jumper to that of a car and offer the owner a replacement jumper when her existing one is damaged and even if you can, that is not what she wants. Her fingers yearn to tangle in the green sleeves that had been a treasured present from her mother. Standing up, Lily yanked the blue monstrosity over her head, frizzing her hair a little and turned to take a step towards the entrance.

* * *

James had been standing. He had maintained his position facing the portrait covering the entrance of the heads dorm for the last five minutes .His feet were positioned apart, bracing him for his next course of action. One of his hands had been almost constantly positioned in his hair while the other had been hiding a package behind him in an attempt at hiding it. He wasn't quite sure why he was attempting to hide it currently as a picture of an old Hogwarts beneficiary trying to persuade his toupee to remain upon his head was separating him and the intended receiver of his gift.

Lily. He had felt terrible after discovering the casualty of the research he and Padfoot had been doing for their next prank and had immediately offered his own favourite jumper as a replacement for the one he noticed her commonly wearing. His guilt only grew when he often passed her in the dorm shivering despite the jumper he had given to her. It seemed that she felt the cold more acutely than he did and cursed himself for being the source of her discomfort.

"Balderdash."

The portrait opened and he moved inside, walking towards the redhead in the centre of their shared common room. Her hair was slightly mussed, obviously from the removal of the jumper he had lent her, and there was a pink tint to her face. Before he could opt out of the action he had been planning since "The accident" as it had been dubbed by Sirius, or even longer before that if he was completely honest with himself. The package that had been partially obscured from her vision by his legs was thrust into her hands, just as she opened her mouth.

His action seemed to stun her somewhat; thus pausing her original reaction to him. Lily turned the package in her hands. Once, twice, before looking at him curiously. He gestured towards it with his hands and she raised an eyebrow at him before returning her attention to the mystery in her grasp. She slid a finger into a gap by the tape that was sealing the wrapping before opening it. From the package she extracted a jumper. It was thick and brown and, she laughed, a size too big for her.

Her laugh seemed to be a signal for James to relax as the tension seeped from his posture and he offered her a small smile, which she gladly returned. She stared at the jumper for a moment before looking up at him, returning to couch and retrieving his jumper before returning it. Lily's arms pulled the chocolate hued jumper over her head, mussing it even more. James looked at the jumper in his hands glad to have his favourite jumper again and hoping he had made up for the accident.

* * *

Lily wrapped her arms around the jumper that surrounded her body newly appreciative of the colour brown. And strangely, James. This whole exchange had been in silence, lacking the normal exuberance and publicity that he had reserved especially for her all of the years before. She glanced towards him to see he was already observing her. Lily opened her mouth to thank him, but before she could make a sound he nodded and held up a hand before retreating out of the heads dorm and back into the corridor he had emerged from.

No, she thought. James Potter wasn't or never had been great. But he was good, and maybe that would suffice.


End file.
